German press slams 'egotistic' Poland and Britain after summit

(BERLIN) - The German press on Sunday slammed Poland and Britain for putting obstacles on the road to the deal reached on guidelines for a new European Union treaty at the bloc's summit this week.

Bild, the country's top selling newspaper, reserved its harshest criticism for neighbouring Poland, calling the Kaczynski twins who hold the posts of Polish president and prime minister "poison dwarves".

"It would have been better if this summit had failed," the newspaper said in an editorial, adding that the bitter dispute over Poland's voting rights has shown that there is little hope for unity in the EU.

"That would have prevented the creation of a Europe of two speeds and two classes. The sickening double game played by the Polish brothers Kaczynski should make it clear to any fan of Europe that this is now inevitable."

Relations between Poland and Germany have never been warm since World War II and took another beating when Warsaw threatened to veto a deal on a new treaty over the voting rights issue.

Before the summit began, the deeply conservative Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his twin Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski evoked Poland's destruction at the hands of Nazi Germany as a reason why its population, and therefore its voting power, was so low.

In the end, Poland won a considerable concession on the voting issue in Brussels, persuading the bloc's other 26 members to delay the full introduction of the new system until 2017.

"Warsaw is on board. But the treaty should not yet be considered saved," Der Tagesspiegel newspaper said.

It warned that the upcoming intergovernmental conference to finalize drafting the treaty and the ratification process present "the next obstacles."

The Berliner Morgenpost agreed, saying that "disaster has been averted, for now."

"It is annoying to see to what extent the nationalistic, egotistical blocking tactics of Poland and Britain paid off," it added.

The newspaper said it feared that a dangerous precedent has been set whereby nations who threaten to block progress within the European Union will be given concessions in return for their cooperation.

"After a success like the one claimed by Poland, there is a danger that this tactic will become common currency."

Welt am Sonntag described the haggling that preceded the deal as "torture" and said despite its eventual success the summit will be remembered mostly for Britain and Poland's "egotistical" behaviour.

It predicted that relations between Berlin and Warsaw were heading for an "icy spell".

"Poland has failed to understand that the point of the European Union is to bury the hatred we inherited," the newspaper commented.